The installation of a garbage disposal unit is, at present, an extremely awkward and difficult task. This is because conventional garbage disposals are suspended from a hanger frame which is attached to a sink opening sleeve (sometimes called a strainer flange) on the underside of the sink. The hanger frame is held to the sink opening sleeve by a stiff circular spring (sometimes called a snap ring) which must be stretched over the bottom end of the sleeve and positioned within an annular groove on the sleeve. The job generally requires manually maintaining the hanger frame in place around the sink opening sleeve while stretching the stiff circular spring over the bottom end of the sink opening sleeve. The job must be accomplished in the tight confines of the area immediately below the sink. This task is very difficult for one individual and it is common in the construction trades to employ two individuals to accomplish the task.
Accordingly, there is a need for an inexpensive and easy-to-use tool for placing the circular spring into the annular groove on the exterior of a sink opening sleeve. Moreover, there is a need for such a tool which will eliminate the requirement of manually maintaining the hanger frame around the sink opening sleeve while the circular spring it attached.